Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

[Let's try one more time. If it's confirmed that Miss Tsubasa only harbors hatred towards Zero, then I'll abandon my original plan.]

Then, Kohinata Mirai thought things through further and made a decision in secret.

"So, what I felt was just an illusion? Is there really no hope of rescuing Hibiki?"

After a moment of intense internal thought, Kohinata Mirai's voice trembled slightly, her eyes narrowed, and soon, an indescribable sadness replaced her original calm.

"Ah, wait, Hinata, why do you say that?"

Looking at the girl in front of him whose face had turned sad, Feng Mingyi was at a loss.

"Because, if things are as Miss Yi said, Hibiki will definitely be killed after she has been squeezed dry of her last bit of value and is completely useless."

As Kohinata spoke, she silently lowered her head, her hands clenched into tight fists, lost in thought.

"Tachibana... I understand."

Kazanari Tsubasa quickly understood Kohinata Mirai's line of thinking.

If the other party is truly as evil as Kazanari Tsubasa described, then Tachibana Hibiki, who is now in Rei's hands, is naturally not guaranteed a life.

If this inference is correct, then it is only natural that Kohinata will behave this way in the future.

Should I comfort Hinata? But how...?

Seeing the somber expression on Kohinata Mirai's face, Kazanari Tsubasa realized that she now had a responsibility to do something to comfort her.

But how could she comfort the other person when she was powerless to do anything about it?

【Yi, don't you know this already? As long as you stop deceiving yourself and tell her everything you saw that day, wouldn't that be better? Besides, that way, you won't have to torture yourself anymore.】

Suddenly, a familiar girl's voice seemed to come from behind, but when Kazanari turned around, she didn't see anyone speaking.

Is this a song...?

Ah, I understand. Now is not the time to force myself to fulfill my duty as a protector. Now, I must muster the courage to face my true feelings. Only then can I correct my current immature behavior.

Listening to the voice from within, and gazing at the sorrowful girl before him, Kazunari Tsubasa closed his eyes and relaxed his body.

"Kohinata, I'm sorry, but what I just said wasn't my true thought."

The blue-haired girl sitting on the hospital bed opened her eyes and uttered these words.

At this moment, her expression was no longer as intense as before, as if the person present was not the warrior who had trained himself into a sword, but simply a girl named Kazunari Tsubasa.

"Miss Yi, what do you mean?"

Upon hearing the other person's words, Kohinata Mirai gently raised her head and asked, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"Kohinata, actually... the Zero I saw, while she wasn't a good person, was by no means a villain who acted without any scruples."

With some difficulty, Feng Mingyi still shared this idea with everyone except himself.

"Why do you say that?"

With a puzzled look, Kohinata Mirai then asked.

"Hmph... Kohinata, now that you've already looked into the relevant information, have you seen the report about the theft of the Bronze Serpent Armor two years ago?"

After catching his breath slightly, Feng Mingyi organized his thoughts and said this.

"Yes, I've seen it, because I wanted to understand the origin of that thing called the relic inside Hibiki's body."

"I remember that incident was about how, two years ago, Zero took away something very important called the Bronze Serpent Armor and left Miss Kanade in a cryogenic chamber until now."

Why did Miss Yi bring this up?

Kohinata Mirai shared what she knew about the incident and asked questions.

"Because, after that first contact, I realized that Lingyi was not an incorrigible villain."

"Kohinata, what I'm going to tell you next is the part of the report you saw that I missed because of my immaturity."

Kazami slowly revealed to Hinata Mirai the truth that she had kept buried deep in her heart.

"What do you mean? Miss Yi, are you hiding part of the truth? Why?"

Kohinata Mirai was very surprised; this time, she was genuinely surprised.

"On the one hand, it's because the parts I'm hiding contain a lot of my subjective feelings, and on the other hand... looking at the stage and everyone else that were ruined because of that incident, I really can't bring myself to tell you what I'm hiding."

"After that, I was left with only one wing. In order to take on the original role, I kept training and fighting. In countless battles, I don't know when, but that unspoken feeling was completely forgotten by me."

With a hesitant expression and his eyes flickering, Feng Mingyi spoke to Xiao Ri and the future.

"Ah, it's Yueyi's first release - I see. Then, could you tell me about the part that Miss Yi is hiding?"

Seeing the girl's genuine expression, the black-haired girl pondered for a moment before asking seriously and attentively.

"of course can."

Feng Mingyi said this.

"Phew, most of the facts about what happened that day are largely consistent with the report that Xiao Ri showed you." 99

As Feng Mingyi recounted his story, he closed his eyes, and his memories began to drift back to the past.

"The only difference is that it was back then..."

At this point, Feng Mingyi paused slightly, as if stating this fact was a difficult thing for her.

"...At that time, after the girl who stole the Bronze Serpent Armor stopped Kanade's final song with her anchor grab and fired a cannon shot at Kanade, I was the only one who witnessed it."

"Ryou, the moment she deprived Kanade of her mobility, performed an act on Kanade's body that I couldn't understand at the time, but later realized was a therapeutic act."

But in the end, Fengmingyi still revealed the truth that she had kept buried in her heart.

"treat?"

Kohinata Mirai looked even more surprised, but Kazanari Tsubasa's story had not yet ended.

"Yes, the treatment was a very brief and discreet action. If I hadn't been paying close attention the whole time, I probably wouldn't have noticed that she injected a very familiar medicine into Kanade's neck at the same time she touched Kanade's body."

Feng Mingyi said, his eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.

"So, is that why Miss Yi doesn't think Lingyi is a bad person?"

Seeing the complex emotions of Kazanari Tsubasa, Kohinata Mirai felt a slight sense of relief for some reason.

"How could I think that way? If it weren't for her, I probably would never have had the chance to see Zou again."

Feng Mingyi revealed her true feelings.

"Moreover, when she was watching the noise scattered throughout the venue, I also noticed the look in her eyes—a look I had seen countless times in both Kanade's and my own eyes—a look of hostility toward noise that kills humans."

Kazemikaze added.

"Phew, that's all I know about why I think Zero isn't a bad person."

Finally, Fengmingyi let out a long sigh, showing an expression as if the pressure had been relieved.

"This...that, haha."

After listening to Kazanari Tsubasa's story, Kohinata Mirai's expression became slightly uncontrollable.

"Hmm, what's wrong, Hinata? Why do you look so strange?"

As Kazanari Tsubasa gradually recovered from her emotions, she noticed Kohinata Mirai's somewhat distorted expression and asked in confusion.

"Um, Miss Tsubasa, I'd like to ask, if an item called a Complete Relic goes berserk, could something very dangerous happen?"

Kohinata Mirai did not immediately answer Kazanari Tsubasa's question, but instead asked about some settings as if to confirm something.

"Of course, every complete relic contains considerable energy. If it goes berserk, it could cause considerable damage to the surrounding area. I remember Ms. Sakurai saying something like that. Why ask this now?"

Kazanari Tsubasa nodded, answering Kohinata Mirai's question, and then asked a question in return.

"Is that so? Ah, is that so, Rei? Although she has changed a lot, her heart has remained the same." 99

Lost in his own world, Kohinata Mirai spoke to himself, without answering Kazanari Tsubasa's question for the time being.

"Kohinata, you..."

“Miss Yi, I suddenly remembered that there were some records in the reports I saw about the ‘Double Wings’ concert two years ago.”

Kazunari Tsubasa looked confused and wanted to say something, but was quickly interrupted by Kohinata Mirai's words.

"I remember that record mentioned that 'during activation, the Bronze Serpent Armor seemed to exhibit a tendency to go berserk due to excessive string gain.'"

"Then came the description: 'A platinum-gold girl suddenly appeared from the crowd, having infiltrated the area at some unknown time, and snatched the Bronze Serpent Armor with a black, anchor-like weapon.'"

“Miss Yi, if you were in this situation, you would understand what this means.”

Kohinata Mirai no longer knew what kind of expression to make.

At this point, after learning so much information, she felt an overwhelming sense of confusion and a strong urge to complain.

"It means... ah?!"

Upon hearing Kohinata Mirai connect the two records, Kazanari Tsubasa suddenly realized the possible truth hidden beneath the facade of coincidence.

“Miss Tsubasa, based on your statement and the reports I have, if we temporarily rule out the fact that Zero took the Bronze Serpent Armor…”

Kohinata Mirai didn't finish speaking, but Kazanari Tsubasa already understood what she wanted to express.

If we disregard the stolen Bronze Serpent Armor, what did Zero do?

First, it suppressed the rampaging Bronze Serpent Armor, preventing potential destruction at that time.

Then, they stopped the final performance and provided treatment, saving the other person's life.

Finally, all remaining noise in the venue was cleared to prevent large-scale damage (although, according to him, it was for performance testing or something similar).

"ah???"

After realizing this fact, Kazanari Tsubasa's face showed the same expression as Kohinata Mirai's.

"Right, Miss Tsubasa, isn't it strange? So, Miss Tsubasa, could you please tell me, is Zero really not a spy or some kind of unofficial agent sent by your Second Section to infiltrate the enemy's ranks?"

In the end, Kohinata Mirai couldn't help but ask Kazanari Tsubasa a question, half-complaining and half-doubting.

"Well, I'm not really sure either... Could Lingyi really be an agent arranged by my uncle and the others? No, no, no, that's too far-fetched. Lingyi is definitely... maybe, perhaps, probably an enemy?"

After Kohinata Mirai's analysis, Kazanari Tsubasa's thoughts became chaotic, and he even began to seriously consider the rationality of Kohinata Mirai's statement.

"In short, now you should understand, Kohinata, that Tachibana is probably still relatively safe... and, no matter what, Rei is still an enemy."

Shaking his head, Feng Mingyi shook off the baseless...not entirely baseless deduction in his mind and pulled his thoughts back onto the correct track.

"Ah, yes, I do understand now. Lingyi's true nature has never changed from beginning to end. That's wonderful."

Kohinata Mirai nodded, her expression returning to calm, and said this to Kazanari Tsubasa.

"That's good. Wait, what do you mean by 'from beginning to end'?"

Hearing Kohinata Mirai's answer, Kazanari Tsubasa was relieved, but was immediately drawn to Kohinata Mirai's new statement.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter 113 Recounting the Past

"Miss Yi should know something about this, right? This isn't the first time Lingyi and I have met."

Seeing that she had successfully attracted Kazanari Tsubasa's attention, Kohinata Mirai said.

Although, given the current situation, she has already achieved her basic goal of preventing Kazanari Tsubasa from hurting herself out of concern for Tachibana Hibiki.

It seems there's no need to talk about his past with Lingyi anymore; he can leave after a few words.

However, after careful consideration, she decided to tell Fengmingyi everything she knew.

However, this time it wasn't to help, but to make a request. Kohinata Mirai hoped to use the information she provided to ask Kazanari Tsubasa for a favor.

"This isn't the first time. Kohinata, have you seen Rei before? When was it?"

On the other side, after hearing the information that Kohinata Mirai said, Kazanari Tsubasa's face showed a genuine surprise.

"Hmm, Miss Yi doesn't know? I thought that as a member of Section Two, Miss Yi would know some of it, because I saw relevant records in the materials you gave me."

Seeing Kazanari Tsubasa's behavior, Kohinata Mirai was puzzled, her expression showing incomprehension, as this differed from the conversation she had anticipated.

She originally intended to use this approach to get Feng Mingyi to bring up some things, and then explain based on that, which would make it easier to understand.

"Yes, really? I remember information about Section Two and Zero, but it should only be what I experienced... Wait, let me think..."

Faced with Kohinata Mirai's questions, Kazanari Tsubasa began searching her memory for relevant records.

Then she discovered that the only records she could find related to Zero were those from the incident two years ago and the events of the last few days, or the weaponry data related to Zero analyzed by Section Two.